Navua, Lautoka eye win

Saiyad Ali believes his side will bounce back in the remaining Vodafone Fiji FACT matches despite a losing start in its opening pool match yesterday.

The southerners went down to Lautoka 1-2 at the ANZ Stadium in Suva and will play Nadi in its second match today at 10am.

Ali said the players played their part well but were unfortunate to lose the game.

“I’m very pleased with the performance of the team, we played very good football in the second half with timely running and a good possession in the attacking zone,” the former national team director said.

“We also had many attempts at the goal but unfortunately all went down the drain because of some inconsistent decisions made by the referee.”

Referee Finau Vulivuli flashed 11 yellow and two red cards in the opening match of the tournament.

Apisai Smith and Netani Doli of Navua will miss a game each after seeing red yesterday.

Ali said they would regroup and come back stronger today to win and remain on track in the tournament.

“I trust all of my players and I believe them, I have enough players to replace them (Smith and Doli) and we will come with a grand performance tomorrow (today).”

Lautoka coach Ravinesh Kumar said they missed a lot of chances in the opening spell and admitted finishing was their weak link.

He said the pressure from Navua in the second half saw his defenders back-paddling which resulted in a goal against them.